


Parenting

by ChokolatteJedi



Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Genre: Background Relationships, Comment Fic, Community: tvdramaland, Gen, Parent-Child Relationship, Season/Series 02, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-08-25
Updated: 2013-08-25
Packaged: 2017-12-25 09:40:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 321
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/951582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChokolatteJedi/pseuds/ChokolatteJedi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Joyce isn't sure what to do</p>
            </blockquote>





	Parenting

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the TDL comment fic challenge, with the character "Joyce Summers"

Joyce stared into her cup of tea, hoping that it would somehow provide her with some answers. She had never claimed to be a brilliant parent, but she thought that she and Hank had been doing a good job with Buffy. Then, of course, Hank had cheated - though she refused to tell Buffy that part - and with the stress of Buffy's troublemaking... it had all been too much.

Suddenly Joyce was a single mother to a troubled teenager, and as well as Joyce thought she had been doing before, suddenly she felt like the most inexperienced parent ever. Buffy broke curfew, and she had let it slide. Buffy got into fights and came home with bloody, destroyed clothing. Buffy was failing a few of her classes, and not even Willow seemed to be able to help her improve. Joyce had gotten a dozen calls already from her principals, warning of Buffy's downward spiral.

Frankly, Joyce had no idea what to do now.

She had followed the advice from the parenting books and had laid down strict rules. But Buffy had broken them. And now Joyce had no idea what to do. She had no _desire_ to punish her daughter, but all the books said that she had to follow through on punishments if she ever wanted to regain control of the house.

Joyce had never been one for control. Hank had always been the dominant, 'in charge' one. When Buffy was younger, she and Joyce had had a wonderful relationship, but then the teen years hit, and just as all of her coworkers had warned her, the relationship fell apart. Joyce was suddenly an evil mother from a fairy tale, and Buffy withdrew further and further from her. But without Hank there to follow through on things, Joyce had to. She just didn't know how.

She swirled her now-cold tea again and sighed. If only it could give her an answer.


End file.
